of giraffes and vows
by sanumarox123
Summary: It started with a giraffe, and it ended with their vows.


**This is based on a twitter post. I'll post it at the bottom since it would spoil the fic if I put it here. **

**This is for my darling embryno.**

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><p><strong>Set late season 3? I'm not sure. But it starts out pre-couple. Because I love writing these fics. Also because Montgomery should have been alive when they finally got together.<strong>

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. I only own the ability to make Steph smile. Which is good enough, in my opinion.<strong>

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><p><strong>(Unedited because Steph is asleep and I really wanted to get this out tonight.)<strong>

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><p><em>i: she wants to hear his contagious laugh <em>

One day, Kate Beckett wakes up and suddenly, she can't _wait _for the call for a body dump to come, just so she can see him. Him, aka Richard Castle, the author who saved her at a time when she was at her worst. Originally, she found him entirely incorrigible but now… something's changed.

It was minute at first, but now it's starting to show. Montgomery sends her winks as she and her partner-in-crime slash why-is-he-still-here-he-has-enough-info-for-forty-books partner walk down the precinct, or when the two of them finish each other's sentences. She tries to ignore them, but now even Espo and Ryan are catching on, coughing when Kate and Castle get too close when they become too energetic while speaking to each other (meaning, he invades her personal space and she lets him).

But now, it's just that she wants him _there._ It's that she wants to hear him cracking jokes with the guys all the time, and the fear that he'll leave one day when he finally realizes he has had enough experience with the NYPD for his research resurfaces every night and morning when they part, each going off to their respectable apartments.

Now, it's that she wants to hear him laugh _all the time_, whether it's reacting to something she said or anything else. She wants him to smile that _smile _that he reserves for only her, and see his eyes light up as they catch the killer or she agrees to something he wants to do for her.

Honestly, she just wants _him. _

And then, it's in a middle of a stupid why-did-the-giraffe-do-this joke when she breaks, her resolve breaks, and she's launching herself at him, mouth attaching to his, attacking it with such a ferocity that he stumbles before returning the action. He just looked so _delicious _in that blue button-up that emphasized his broad chest that she just couldn't stop herself. (His eyes were too blue, as well. Too blue. Too excited about a nonsensical thing that she knows could very well change the whole case's future, as usual.)

Luckily, no one else is in the precinct that late, and when they break away, chests heaving and eyes dilated to the point where it's just all black and no color whatsoever, Kate leans over and whispers (why, she doesn't know), "Will you come home with me?"

His face brightens immensely at her question, and his eyes are ferocious with want as he ravages her mouth once more, turning her into a pile of goo with his tongue and _oh yeah _he's a good kisser.

Then he grabs their coats and dragging her out of the precinct, and they don't even make it to her apartment the first time they come apart in each other. (Thank god for his limo service.)

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><p><em>ii: she wants to feel his hands surrounding her waist in the early morning<em>

The next morning, she's woken up to his strong, _able _hands caressing her naked back, drawing figures and letters, and his mouth at her shoulder, nipping gently before smoothing it over with his tongue, making her shiver and his hands slip down to clench her waist and pull her closer to him. She chokes back a giggle because of course he's ready to go again, but she can barely move. Her body is pliable as it sinks into his embrace, and she musters up the energy to turn around and rest her cheek on his broad chest.

He kisses her cheek and smiles as she groans as he rolls over to get up. She grabs his bicep and pulls him down to her (admittedly, she didn't have to try very hard), and he kisses her languidly, taking his time. She moans in contentment, and he grins into the kiss. He pulls away and she rests her head on his arm, and she feels his arm come around her.

"Good morning," He says, and she gets goosebumps at how deep and just utterly masculine his morning voice is, and she leans on one arm to take his mouth once again.

"Good morning to you too," She answers, once they have to come up for air, and then she settles back into their original position. She can rest a little longer; she has the day off.

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><p><em>iii: she wants to know what he thinks about at night<em>

She has unofficially moved into his loft a few months later, staying there for lengths of a time, and she's pretty sure the whole precinct knows that they're together, now. Montgomery took her aside and told her to tell Castle that although he's happy for them (he's been rooting for them since the start, is what he said exactly), that they would have to remain professional and let nothing change.

Her boyfriend (_her favorite author is her boyfriend_) just grinned when she relayed the message, and pulled the man into a man-hug the next morning at the precinct.

They're cuddling one night, in his bedroom, staring out the window at the city lights and the moon peeking out of the cloudy sky, when she asks, "What do you think about at night?"

He snuggles her closer, pressing his lips to her collarbone before answering.

"Now, after I came to the precinct, or before?"

She loves that he classifies time by their relationship and partnership. "All, I guess."

He slips a broad, muscled thigh between hers so he can squeeze closer (he's so very touchy feely, and for the first time in any relationship Kate has ever had, she loves it). "Well, before I met you, I mainly thought about Alexis, and that I had to write and how to keep producing chapters day by day." He tangles their fingers together, and presses them into her side, into the soft skin that's between her rib and her hip. "When I came to the precinct, from the first moment, I was infatuated with you."

She blushes at how blunt he is. "Really?"

He presses a kiss to her cheek. "Yes, really. If I wasn't… relieving stress from the day," She chokes on saliva but he continues, unbeknownst to her reaction. "I was probably dreaming up a scenario where you would let me take you out, or kiss you, or really _anything_."

His voice suddenly turns serious. "I was thinking about what it would feel like to fall in love with you."

She shifts and presses her nose into his shoulder. "And now?"

He kisses her, tongue and teeth clashing, and she can barely breath when he whispers into the quiet room, "Now, I like to think about how it feels like to be in love with you."

She surges up at that, and she's murmuring into his mouth, "I love you too, I love you too," as he wraps his arms around her and returns the kiss, flipping them over so she's staring, panting, up at his flashing blue eyes (_oh, it's not just passion, it's love now too_) and then there's very little time to think about anything else but the feel of his lips trailing down her body and making her capsize in pleasure, turning everything she thought she knew into dust.

(She returns the favor soon after.)

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><p><em>iv: she wants him to know that she's here for him through all the highs and lows<em>

It's their wedding day, and it's _perfect_. It might sound cliché, but it truly is. It's everything she could ever want, and everything her mother would have wanted for her as well.

It's not the setting that makes it perfect, no. The Hamptons is beautiful at sunset, yes, the red and orange and purple and blue colors glistening on the ocean behind them as she and her fiancé say their vows.

She walks down the aisle at her beaming partner, and he's mouthing, "always," to her, and she bites her lip to hold back tears. Only their closest friends are at their wedding; the precinct family, of course (She sees Montgomery with his family, and he's grinning widely, and even Espo has tears in his eyes. Ryan is already crying with his wife, and Lanie is hooting encouragingly), her dad, Castle's family, and Maddie is there too, with a new man toy.

Then she reaches the podium and climbs the short stairs to where her author stands, blinking back tears, and she grips both his hands in her own, and the ceremony starts.

It comes time to their vows, and he slips her ring on, and says his vows. "Always. I promise to always love you, to always be your partner, whether it's in family or in crime. Till death does us part. I've loved you for years now, and I plan on doing it for at least another fifty years. For better or for worse, you're stuck with me now. You're going to be the mother of my children, and I'm going to be able to spend the rest of my life with the love of my life. Always."

She's crying earnestly now, mascara running, but she could care less and she slips his ring on, clenching his fingers to keep her voice steady. "I want you to know that I'll be here for you through all the highs and lows, when we have our first child, when you're finally kicked out of the precinct," A chuckle runs through the audience and he smiles, his eyes tender with love and admiration as she continues, "When we're old and have grandchildren and I'm telling them about all your adorable and stupid antics, how your theories help us solve our cases. However, I can't wait to tell them how you saved me during the time I needed you most. I love you so much, and I promise to be your partner in crime, and in life, for the rest of our lives. Always."

Then the priest tells them that they're officially husband and wife, and Castle's kissing her before he even finishes the sentence. His hands grip her face as he slips his tongue inside her mouth and kisses her like never before (because this is different from anything both of them have ever experienced before, even with his previous two marriages).

They're separated when everyone surrounds them, congratulating them, and his eyes plead to her, begging her to let him take her somewhere else so he can consummate their marriage (it's been less than ten minutes and already he wants to do it).

She shakes her head and holds up one finger, signaling that they'll take one hour and leave, and he concedes, but not before sending her a look that sends shivers down to her spine.

(Because, really, what did she expect? He's told her exactly what he wants to do to her when they're finally married.)

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><p>And to think it started with a giraffe.<p>

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><p><strong>Okay, so the post went as follows: (on poemporn )<strong>

_I want to feel _

_Your hands around my waist_

_To hear your morning voice_

_To know how your lips taste_

_I want to hear_

_Your contagious laugh_

_When you hear a joke_

_About a stupid giraffe_

_I want to know_

_What you think about_

_When the sky is dark_

_And the moon is out_

_But most of all_

_I want you to know_

_That I'm here for you_

_Through all the highs and lows._

_; kvb_

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><p><strong>And then I was texting Steph and it hit me like, why not? Let's write this to make her feel better. Except she went to bed an hour and a half ago.<strong>

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><p><strong>Also, this might be my last fanfic for a little while. I got some news that I'm not sure how to handle, and I'll need all my attention on that for a bit.<strong>

**Happy Holidays, guys! **


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